Book your airline tickets! Travel is cheaper for now, but it may rise in 2010
Filed under: Economy, American Express
If you're feeling like a character in a Southwest Airlines commercial -- that is, you "wanna get away" -- take heart: Travel expenses will drop this month and stay low into early 2010. It won't stay that way for long, though. By the end of 2010, it'll cost more to fly to your destination -- but on the plus side, it will be cheaper to stay there once you arrive."Considering airfare, hotel and ground transportation, we expect the average domestic business trip to increase 1.2 percent, or $13, to a total of $1,080," American Express Business Travel VP–general manager Hervé Sedky said in a statement about its 2010 travel forecast. Additional fees could increase the cost of any trip by as much as 15 percent, Sedky said.
Because airlines have the flexibility to cut flights or fly smaller planes to control the supply of seats, American Express predicts that domestic short-trip airfares will rise between 2 percent and 7 percent while international business fares will increase from 3 percent to 8 percent.
But rates at U.S. hotels will drop by 1 percent to 4 percent, the company predicts, largely because weakened demand this year will give way to a flurry of demand for meetings and travel next year. In its October hotel industry forecast, Smith Travel Research said the average daily rate for hotel rooms decreased 9.7 percent to $96.43 in 2009, due to a 5.5 percent decrease in demand. For 2010, the ADR is expected to decrease another 3.4 percent, to $93.16.
Chad Church, STR industry research manager, said the hotel industry is hoping for a recovery through stronger demand in business-group travel, now that conference season has begun. However, he says, "With the stabilization of transient leisure demand, expect to see continued deep discounting in both segments throughout 2009 as hoteliers focus on rate to try to entice consumers."
This month's Hotwire Hotel Rate Report lists 10 North American cities with the steepest drops in room rates. (Houston tops the list with a 30 percent discount over October 2008, when hotel rates rose as people in the region sought refuge from hurricane Ike.) By coincidence or not -- the U.S. just experienced its first autumn cold snap -- Hotwire's list is full of warm-weather locations with double-digit declines in room rates: Jacksonville, Florida is down 22 percent; Orlando and Miami, 19 percent; and Phoenix, 18 percent.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-15-2009 @ 10:02PM
Dick Turner said...
AMERICA WAKE UP! WE ARE BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY! OUR AIRPORTS REMAIN ON CODE ORANGE WHEN THE ONLY TERRORISTS SEEM TO BE THE AIRLINES THEMSELVES.
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10-15-2009 @ 10:02PM
gr8bsn said...
Why would I want to fly anywhere, cheap or not? Extra charges, security theater? I'll drive thank you.
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10-15-2009 @ 11:00PM
Mike said...
Yeah raising the prices on tickets and charging for everything that use to be free....THAT's going to make people want to fly....
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10-15-2009 @ 11:18PM
Sandra Browne said...
Have you given thought to how much education and skill must
be part of the pilot's training? Would you expect a physician to just perform brain surgery without having spent money on years of med school? In many cases the USAF has given excellent training to these men.Their families have spent money educating them in flight schools so that you can climb aboard, go to sleep and trust them! Have you had any car repairs done lately? Were they cheap and served with free beverages? Better hope airline mechanics are well-trained too!!If you think that peanuts and free carry-on bags are what count, ride the bus!
then it is better for you to drive than fly! Pilots like Capt.
Sully are not "cheap" and aren't those passengers glad
that he had the necessary skills to save his life?
Go ahead, ride the bus!!
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10-16-2009 @ 1:19AM
gr8bsn said...
Oh I've thought about it. I actually did it. Among other things, I got sick and tired of how smug everyone in the industry was. I am fully aware of EXACTLY how many hours a pilot needs to learn to safely operate an aircraft. Pilots like "Sully" impress me with their airmanship. Still, air travel has turned to crap in the last ten years. It's not the fault of the pilots or the fight crews, but the bureaucrats that run this industry. I used to love air travel, but not anymore. God, you can't even get a sip of water on a plane anymore, much less bring your own.
10-15-2009 @ 11:47PM
bcarrknapp said...
I have been traveling by plane since the early 1960's and I fly often. Boy have things changed. Early on, tickets were expensive but people were civilized. People were clean and neatly dressed. The flight attendants where young women who were helpful to those passengers that needed extra help. I traveled with my young babies and they would always help me. They helped passengers with their lugage and making people comfortable was important. The passengers were also different in that they were more civilized. Today, it is the Greyhound bus in the sky. Most of the passengers are dirty, smelly and I have even seen some wearing pajamas. They bring everything on board except the kitchen sink. They are rude and loud,especially loud. The passengers are so large they can hardley fit down the isle and when they sit next to you, they pour over into your seat. The cell phone usage is atrocious. Before the door closes, peopple are talking so loud that I am sure they can be heard in the terminal. Businessmen are the worst. You would think they were making the deal of the century and they give great details of the dinner evening the night before. The flight attendants look as if they don't want to be there and some are so old, you wonder who is going to assist them if there is trouble with the plane. The flight attendants will not assist you in any way in reguards to luggage or helping you. They say they are there for saftey reasons only. I have to fly so I will suck it up but it sure does suck to fly.
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10-17-2009 @ 1:27AM
seminole moseley said...
Listen People, Air line Pilots trained very well and the majority of them are "X" military pilots. Therefore, we as true American"s must and should see there side of the story. Airline pilots are good at what they to, I myself do not have any reservation of them getting a pay increaesed. So suck it up people and bear with it and get on with it and continue to contributed to the cause keep flying.
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10-16-2009 @ 12:07AM
Kent said...
As bad as flying is, you couldn't pay me to drive more than five hours. I had to endure 14-hour car trips to visit relatives who weren't much fun, and rural Kansas, which isn't as much fun as Disney World, New York, or the Grand Canyon.
We also live the in era where no one can take a 2-week vacation.
When I was a kid, a father could take two weeks, knowing that a week in Yosemite meant 3 days of driving each way from the Midwest.
Now that people get yelled at by a boss for taking 5 business days off at one time, the idea of driving vacations simply doesn't work.
It's also nice when you have lifetime elite status with an airline. I never pay to check a bag. I get to go to the first-class check-in and seurity lines. I get to board after first-class. I get an extra 25% on my airline miles.
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10-16-2009 @ 12:14AM
Kent said...
Here's the problem. The airlines do a lousy job of marketing. When the legacy carriers had the advantages in service, such as free food, free bags, free curbside check-in, etc., they didn't market that.
They tried to provide the extra service while matching fares with the likes of Southwest and Jet Blue.
It can't work.
Look at hotels like Marriott and Hilton. They cost more than brands such as Fairfield and Hampton (which they own), and you don't even get free breakfasts or Wi-Fi.
So why do people stay there? Because of the marketing, whether it's nicer pools, better bedding, 24-hour room service, or 4-star restaurants, or a bell hop to carry your bags.
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10-16-2009 @ 12:53AM
myheroesnemesis said...
If we would simply start using our own fossil fuel resources instead of relying on questionable foreign providers, we would not only blow a hole in transportation costs, we could export oil to countries like China and work off some of that heavy debt. Gas prices would drop below a dollar a gallon and jet fuel would follow suit. We would also reduce our interests in hostile countries and therefore put ourselves in fewer predicaments. Im not really sure at what point this country lost its balls, but its time to pick them up off the floor, polish them off, and get those babies pumping again.
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10-16-2009 @ 1:56AM
george said...
All we have to do is refuse to fly anywhere in one calander year collectively. Airfares will be slashed in half and they'll bring free food back. I am not flying in 2010 for any reason and I have family in LA california and I live in Tennessee. I'll drive 2300 miles before flying. Maybe I'll try it in 2011 to see if it has improved. How about it America? Are you ready to make a statement? Let's do it. As long as we give in, we'll get fleeced.
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10-19-2009 @ 1:37AM
Rose said...
The Airline Executives have no shame. The USA has some of the dirtiest airports in the world, and considering that they are nickle and diming us to death everytime we turn around, they sure must think that we are also stupid. I will fly when I want too, not because the airline told me to. It's a crying shame that customers are not important anymore. When you are left for 4 and 5 hours on the tarmac, and given no food, no compensation, and you are told to take a hike. I don't even feel like flying anymore.
Alas, that is not possible. So the next time I do fly, I will take a foreign carrier. Much better customer service. For you people who do not travel often, don't get upset. You just don't get it.
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10-16-2009 @ 6:01AM
lily said...
I must say that I too agree with a number of the posts regarding the terrible service or lack of service one receives when flying these days! Years ago, both my husband and I were on our way home from San Francisco and somehow the airline made a mistake and not only put us on seperate planes but also seperate departure times.
Well, his plane left right on time and my plane was grounded for over 2-3 hours because they couldn't get the darn door closed. They had to call the "repair guy" who showed up with a ratchet and some other type of tool! It was in the middle of summer, the flight attendant's said there was no water and they only had a few packs of peanuts available. We were told because it was supposed to be a "somewhat" shorter flight, they didn't order the meal carts. Yet, they sat in the back drinking their Cokes and eating chips and fruit.... I was furious and demanded a refund but was told that since the delay was out of their control, they could not reimburse me nor anyone else. I've chosen not to fly since. In fact, will only fly locally if it's absolutley required which is from Seattle to Eastern Wa. The rest of the time, we take our luxurious RV without worry of being stranded on the tarmac with no relief in sight!!
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